“The beginnings and endings of all human undertakings are untidy.”
-Anonymous

Game one is technically in the books, even if it’s not much more than a token. Unfortunately, for those of us out of market, it all came second-hand. Without the distinct privilege of watching 48 minutes of riveting preseason action myself, I’m inclined to defer to those who did. But don’t leave this to writers and journalists alone. Have some insight on one of the Mavs from last night’s game? Sound off in the comments.

Eddie Sefko, Dallas Morning News: “According to the coaching staff, [Jason] Terry had five deflections and caused three loose balls. This is a huge development because coach Rick Carlislehas maintained that defensive intensity is what Terry has to improve on to keep racking up the 30 minutes per game that he’s averaged over most of his career. When asked if Terry can do that, Carlisle said: ‘Why the (heck) not?’ Terry’s defensive tipped balls – even more than his three steals – made Carlisle smile. Terry, too. ‘That’s what we’ve been concentrating on,’ he said. ‘That’s what I have to do.’”

Michael Lee, Washington Post: “[John] Wall later intercepted an Ian Mahinmi pass intended for Kidd and zipped down the court to make a left-handed layup. But his best play was actually a pass: a lob from beyond the three-point line to JaVale McGee (13 points, 7 rebounds and 6 blocks) that McGee caught and dunked with two hands over Brian Cardinal. ‘That was the hypest play for me,’ Wall said of the alley-oop to McGee. ‘The main thing was getting the jitters out of the way and having chemistry down pat with my teammates.’”

Tim MacMahon, ESPN Dallas: “After two injury-marred seasons, [Tyson] Chandler is completely healthy again. He looked a lot like the dude who averaged a double-double for the Hornets in 2007-08 during his debut in a Mavs uniform. He finished with 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting (including one oooh-inducing alley-oop), nine rebounds and two blocked shots in 17 minutes. “‘I loved Chandler tonight, and I’ve loved him every day of training camp,’ coach Rick Carlisle said. ‘He’s really bringing not only energy, but he’s bringing some vocal leadership and personality to our team, which we need. He’s a very, very welcome addition.’”

Tyson Chandler: “They came out and threw a press at us and threw a zone at us. Those were things that we weren’t prepared for and some things that we haven’t gone over in practice. But, that is what preseason is for. We need to learn. Tomorrow we will go over some things for the next game.”

Kyle Weidie, Truth About It: “Four of [Gilbert Arenas'] five makes were assisted upon; two of those came from running off-ball screening action, and two came as he made himself available at the three point line in transition and off an offensive rebound. The one non-assisted make came on a sweet baseline jumper against the mis-matched Jose Juan Barea (that natural scoring ability Gil still has). Out of the four misses, only 1.5 accounted for “bad attempts” — The good misses being wide open in transition and when Marion gave him too much room at the top of the key. The bad miss came when he pulled up for three in transition when driving action clearly would’ve created something for Blatche down low or Hinrich in the corner. The half bad attempt was Arenas’ last as he tried to post his old buddy DeShawn Stevenson. It was a close shot, but going in the direction of help. In terms of changing his game for the team, Gilbert might just be okay … but I can’t speak for him otherwise.”

Dan Devine, Ball Don’t Lie: “No catchphrases here … just a note that Hudson, a training camp invitee who spent time last season with the Boston Celtics and Memphis Grizzlies (as well as the D-League’s Maine Red Claws and Dakota Wizards), showed similar late-game flair during Summer League. Given the video evidence, if they don’t already call him Cool Lester Smooth, they might want to think about it. (Or, whoever “they” are might not want to start doling out “Wire”-related nicknames based on stuff that happens before the games start to count. Which would be fair, I guess.)”